Free Audio Mixing Programs

[evil_genius_180]

Anyone interested in Audio mixing without wanting to pay a buttload of money can thank jjrakman, because he asked about it in Taranis' Free 3D Programs thread, so I thought it would be a good idea to get the ball rolling on this.

Now, I only know of and have used 2 (though I really only understand 1 of them ;)) but I'm hoping some of you guys who are more knowledgeable about Audio Mixing can help me out here with some links.

Audacity (http://audacity.sourceforge.net/) - This is a very light and very easy to use simple sound mixer and changer. It's great for sound mixing noobs (like me) and even comes with some basic sound generators and filters to get you started. I'm not thinking it would be great for music but it works pretty well for sound FX.

Renoise (http://www.renoise.com/) - This is the one I really don't understand, but it's supposed to be one of the top free song mixin' programs out there (according to Maximum PC.) It's pretty heavy but I'd imagine you could do some cool stuff with it.


Anywho, that's all I have and I really hope some other helpful souls around here can add to this thread as they have Taranis' 2D and 3D program threads. :D

[gmd3d]

This is one that jjarkman sent me
http://audacity.sourceforge.net/

[evil_genius_180]

Oops. That was what I meant to put in my first post instead of Avidemux.
Avidemux (http://fixounet.free.fr/avidemux/) is a video editing program, not a sound editing program, though you might be able to clean sound up with it.

Audacity is the fun little sound mixer that I used for my 2 or 3 little Star Trek flyby animations that I did. It's a cool little program. I just got it confused with Avidemux because I got a buttload of digital media software on a CD from Maximum PC and I've installed the more useful tools, like Audacity and Avidemux.

[kageryu]

From what I can tell, Renoise is very much akin to the older audio editors from the days of the Commadore Amiga, such as Soundtracker, Med, OctaMed, and the many clones. I used to fairly skilled with those, I'll have to give it a try.

[evil_genius_180]

You'll have to let us know if you come up with anything. I think it's got some great potential but I was never that good with those old school mixers.

[Fretslayer]

Don't forget about 'Goldwave (http://download.cnet.com/GoldWave/3000-2170_4-10001099.htm)'.
It's still a really good program for 'free'.

One of the nice things about it is that it doesn't 'expire' on you if you don't pay for it. I don't recall if it has any 'nag-screens' though. I do know that it is not 'crippleware' nor does it watermark your work in anyway - plus - you can save your work!

Here's some info on the app. (from CNet.com)

# License: Free to try; $45.00 to buy

# Average User Rating: 4.5 stars (out of 163 votes)

# Downloads: 2,218,592

# Operating Systems: Windows Vista, Windows Me, Windows 2000, Windows XP

# Additional Requirements:700MHz processor;256MB RAM; 200MB HDD; Accelerated video card running at 16-bit or true 32-bit colour; DirectX compatible sound card driver

# Limitations: No limitations

# Date Added: January 19, 2009

[evil_genius_180]

Hey, thanks Fretslayer. I've never heard of that one before. That sounds like another good program people can use. I always love free trials that never expire. :)

[Fretslayer]

NP EG180.
I used Goldwave until a few weeks ago when I picked up my Adobe Mega Suite package.

Goldwave is easy to use and quite powerful too.
Plus you don't need a W.O.P.R. to run it.
:)

[kageryu]

I've heard of goldwave before, but never actually tried it. Like so many programs, I downloaded it, and never installed it. Maybe I should give it a try.
I used to have a forum thread bookmarked on an art site I was on that had a lot of free programs for different purposes: audio, video, 3D, paint, flash, etc... If I can find it again I'll post it (all my favs got wiped out with a HD crash).

[kageryu]

I haven't had much luck with Renoise yet (haven't gotten a chance to play with it yet). I did find another program I don't think was listed yet that looks promising:
Jeskola Buzz http://www.buzzmachines.com/getbuzz.php

And a free loop mixer that is easy and interesting to use:
Rubber Duck http://www.d-lusion.com/DownloadRubberduck.html

[gmd3d]

cool finds

[volkov]

I use Audacity all the time for basic audio processing and editing.

And a free loop mixer that is easy and interesting to use:
Rubber Duck http://www.d-lusion.com/DownloadRubberduck.html
That's a lot of fun, thanks.

[ArielSzataria]

I also use Audacity for my sound editing needs. It's pretty easy, and does what I need.

[psycoderek]

http://www.wavosaur.com/

Here's one i found. May be useful. I use Magix music maker and Wavelab 4 for most of my editing and Reason for creating along with my Gnx4 and it's studio.